Corrupters
by K.C Lanton
Summary: Max lives in a world where you join a gang or die. When her gang leader dies, it's up to her to get the Corrupters at the top and protect them all the way. But when she falls for the leader of a rival gang her world does a backflip.
1. Sorry Excuse For a World

Me: Hey people. I just wanted to say that I want to thank all my patient people who have been waiting on this story. I got the idea after reading The Hunger Games so it's loosely based on that. And yes I have read a similar story like this but I had already halfway written the story so I finished it. Sorry whoever wrote it but I had this idea way before I read your story, so sorry. I swear I'm not copyrighting, or the transfer from Microsoft to Fan Fiction doesn't keep the big letters so i have to bold them. And a little sneak peak in this story, Total is a HUMAN!

Larry Bob Jr: You are so weird.

Me: As you can see I taught Larry Bob Jr. to say other things besides "LEAVE ME ALONE!" Like for instance the disclaimer.

Larry Bob Jr: KC doesn't own Maximum Ride.

Me: *clears throat.*

Larry Bob Jr: *sigh* But she does own me. *bursts into tears*

Me: On with the story!

* * *

**Punoah (Poo-noe-uh). It's the new world. It takes place where the United States used to be. Everything else has been destroyed due to****war. I live in the Washington D.C. area the old country's capitol. Punoah's capital is now in Oklahoma City. Now days, everybody lives in a****gang. And when I say everyone, I mean everyone.**

**If you aren't in a gang by the time you're at least thirteen, you die. But, I mean, not that you'd live past forty years old anyway. That's the average death age now. So there five major gangs in the area. The Graves, The Corruptions, The Mayhems, The Capers, and The Skeletons.**

**The Graves are famous for they're silence. They almost never talk and even when they attack, it's quiet. The leader is a man of mystery,****they say. Until he's shooting a few holes through your chest. He's known for his brains, strategies, and basically keeping Graves the best****gang out there, but The Corruptions, the gang I'm in, are a close second.**

**We aren't quiet but once we attack prepare to die, because there is ****little chance of you escaping. We are also good on the defensive side too. In fact we rarely attack but more likely defend.**

**Then there is The Mayhems. With them it's attack, attack, attack. But as good (and random) as they're attacks are, they stink (badly) at ****defense. (Hence all the attacking.)**

**Then comes the Capers, famous for kidnapping their victims, then torturing in them in hidden holding cells for days, then killing them after a****week. Everything else about them is average, but no-one wants to mess with them, on fear of getting a mass kidnapping. **

**Last _and_ least are ****the Skeletons. Because if you join them, _that's what you are._ If you can't get in any other gang you go to them.**

* * *

**The gang wars have increased of the last 50 years. In fact it's the year 2060. In 2020 you officially had to be in a gang. In 2030 you had to ****chose a gang when you turned thirteen. In 2035 you had to chose by the time you were ten. In 2040 they made it legal for gang scouters,****(which are just like they sound) to go into middle schools (It was already legal in high schools). In 2045 for safety, when you chose your ****gang, you had to pick up and move in at your gang dorms.**

**That was the year I was born. I'm fifteen, a Corrupter, and my name is Maximum Ride. And this sorry excuse for a world is my life.**

* * *

Me: You likey? Review and Larry Bob Jr gets a pet.

Larry Bob Jr: Yay, I want a goldfish!

Me: But you _ate _last five!

Larry Bob Jr: So?

Me: *head-desk* review?


	2. Waking up with a BANG

The Corrupters

A/N

K.C.: I have nothing witty and/or sarcastic to say sooooo….

DISCLAIMER: K.C. does not and never will own Maximum Ride.

Larry Bob Jr: Enjoy.

**I wake up to loud BANG! And jump out of bed poised with the pistol I keep on my nightstand, ready to shoot. I take a moment to compose myself, set the gun down, and then look at the window. Total, my best friend and numero uno gang leader, once made a joke that the only way he could ever wake me up was by a gunshot. So now, everyday Total and some other guys stand outside my gang-provided, first-floor dorm room, and shoot at the sky.**

**

* * *

****Normally, when I pull back the curtain I see Total and his buddies laughing and goofing off. Today I only see a grim looking, African American, 18-year-old boy, standing by himself on dank Saturday morning. The skies were cloudy and dreary, and freakishly quiet for a city like Washington D.C. _What a way to start the day._**

**I crawl out my window and ask in my second-in-command-voice, "What the heck is going on?" "The Capers called for a meeting." Total said with his deep, gravely, voice. Which means the Capers will most likely be calling a war on. "What you can't go! I won't let you!" Gone is my second-in-command-voice, present is my little sister/best friend voice. "Maximum I have to, you know that." Total tried to reassure. "Barely anyone ever survives those meetings." I pleaded. "I know." Came Total's solemn reply. "Maximum I'm ready to ask something of you. And it could cost your life." "You and I both know I would readily give up my life for the gang." I said. "Unfortunately." Total said with a bittersweet smile.**

**"The meeting is in the woods, I need you to hold back and be ready to snipe." Total had switched to his in-charge mode. "Guards aren't allowed at meetings." I said. "I know," Total began, "Rumor has it that the Graves are bringing a team of snipers to take out the leaders, and chances are I'm the first to go. I'm walking to my deathbed and I've already accepted it," I whimpered at this. "As soon as I go down I want you to take out the Capers leader, then take out the Graves snipers, the haul out of there and take over the Corrupters." Total said, looking at me with a mix of jealousy, pride, love, and dry humor that I'm going to be taking his place as leader. "I can't save you?" I ask. "No, the only person you're saving is yourself if you can." Total said with force. I look him in the eyes and deadpan "Is that an order?" "Yes. Dismissed." He deadpans back. With that I go up and lock myself in my room, not coming out until it's time to prepare. _What a wonderful _****_Saturday._**

**_

* * *

_**

Merry Christmas!


	3. A Mysterious Man

I hold my position. Every sense is on edge and I'm trying to stay still as possible. The five gang leaders stand in a circle in an opening in the woods. Total is dead in front of me, then who I assume to be the Skeleton's leader- a tiny redheaded girl with baggy clothing and a tattoo of a…unicorn I think… on her arm, then the semi-famous Mayhem's leader Georgie Fisher, the man who obviously is the Graves leader is next and he's, well not what I expected. Younger and way hotter than I thought a cold-blooded killer to look like. Oh well there's the whole book and cover speech.

Then the guy who obviously runs the Capers is talking making wild gestures and hand motions. I've always thought they had to be psychotic. I couldn't make out what he was saying, but he was obviously declaring war. Well damn. Then what I was waiting to do finally came. The air cracked and Total went down. Pushing down normal emotions I took out Georgie Fisher, then the unicorn girl. But then I couldn't tell who took down the Caper's leader because a group of seven snipers came down and surrounded the Grave's leader shooting aimlessly for *cough cough* me. I took a deep breath and switch my gun to automatic.

I took down the three snipers at first; unfortunately giving away my position I took off about fifty meters and shot again getting two. The leader and remaining two swerved to my general direction and starting shooting (the leader took one of the dead men's guns) and I got two bullets to my left arm, my shooting arm. In one last attempt I took random fire hoping to at least hit the leader. I ended up hitting all but him. I collapsed grabbing at my arm in pain waiting for the final bullet.

Leaves crunch and I looked forward to see black combat boots standing on blood soaked leaves (I was losing so much blood). I searched the face of the man with the machine gun slung over his back staring at me. And he reached forward.

Instead of strangling me to death like I predicted, ripped a small piece of cloth from my black v-neck, and made a tourniquet. I was so shocked that couldn't breathe. "You know," said a deep gravelly voice "there's no point of me even trying to save you if you suffocate yourself." At that point I'm pretty sure I might have squeaked. I hated how off guard he had caught me. But in my defense I just had been shot. Twice.

"What are you going to do with me?" I asked. He looked at me and said "Well I'm not going t kill you if that's what you think." I nodded. "You are going to have to give me directions to your dorm though." He said. Despite the searing pain in my arm I got my edge back, and I said "You're dumb as hell if you think I'm going to tell you where I and my family live." He looked up surprised as I continued "Why didn't you kill me, what do you want?" He lifted me off the ground and situated the awkward position to be less awkward. "I have rule, a personal rule, that I don't kill helpless people" he said as we slowly started moving. "I'm not helpless." I said sounding exactly that. He stopped and just looked at me. "Well who knew two bullets would actually _save_ my life." I trailed off. He shook his head and kept walking. "How's your arm?" he inquired "What do you think?" I bit.

After about twelve minutes of walking I asked "What's your name? I mean, I think I should know the name of my almost killer that's carrying me home." "Fang." He said. "I finally found someone with a weirder name than mine. Mine's Maximum Ride before you ask." I babbled. He got a mischievous look in his eyes and I interrupted "If you make a perverted comment I guarantee I could muster up enough energy to castrate you." Fang looked a bit taken back "How did you know I was gonna say something like that?" "I just did." I said as I pointed right and he knew to turn there. I had lost a lot of blood (I was kind of proud of how well I was hiding the pain) and was obviously getting really weak, I hadn't even realized I was nodding off until Fang said "Maximum wake up, c'mon Max I think we're almost there." "Hmm," I said "Max, no one has ever called me that before. I like it." I mumbled. I felt myself being laid down on the ground on a familiar porch.

"Although the circumstances suck, it was kind of nice to meet." I said. Fang smirked- an irritating habit of his I've learned- "Sure, kind of nice." He said. "Goodbye." He said kind of ominously, like he thought this was the last time we would meet. I had a know-it-all smirk on my face as I run into the darkness of my mind. The doorbell rang and I could feel the weight of the porch shift as a mysterious man disappeared into a night a little lighter than mine.

I woke up sore, tired, and in the medical unit of the Corrupter's dorm. The nurse I've become accustomed with (I'm slightly danger-prone) Nudge was reading old magazines in the bed next to me. "They let you do that on duty?" I asked. Nudge slipped the magazine under the covers and handed me a little paper up with five or six pills. I swallowed them all dry. Nudge was beautiful with frizzy black hair, dark brown skin, and huge dark eyes. She was also Total's sister. "Where's Bubba?" she said calling Total a nickname only she could use.

I should have known only I would know about the mission. It was wrong, but I couldn't tell Nudge what had happened so I got up, ripped the IV out (I'm an expert at that), and went to the PA. "Emergency meeting in the loft in five minutes, everyone must attend. Be there." I said as I walked to the seventh and last floor to the loft.

Familiar and unfamiliar faces filled the loft as I stood on Total's, I mean, my makeshift stage. I waited till the silence was too loud to bear. "As you all know Total and I left the dorms yesterday. Total is not coming back. Yesterday the Caper's called a meeting to declare war. Fa-The Grave's leader made a smart move and opened fire on the others. I'm the new leader of the Corrupters according to Total's wishes." I had started crying before I even started talking, but my voice did not waver.

"We need to make a statement that we are not a force to be reckoned with. What we are gonna do is risky but we need to use the Mayhem's own strategy against them. We will take two teams, one will going and invade their small space killing many as possible Team One is a suicide mission. Team Two, the team I will lead will take the perimeter. Volunteer's for Team One need to meet me at the kitchen in an hour. Meeting adjourned." I finished.

"Maximum." Nudge called to me her tear-streaked face trying to be brave. "I'm sorry Nud-"Nudge interrupted me with a small smile letting me know she understood. "Angel wants to talk to you." She said pointing to a girl with gold hair, small baby blue eyes framed by long gold lashes, and a heart shaped face. "Hi Angel."  
I said.

"I want to volunteer for Team One." Angel said shocking me into silence.

Dun Dun DUUUUUUNNN.


End file.
